Our Lady Of The Assumption Parish issued the following announcement on Sept. 18.

Father Carey's Pastor's Corner - Week of 09/20:

My Dear Friends,

This weekend, we celebrate the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. A parable is presented in today’s Gospel that has intrigued many since the time of Jesus. It is the parable of the workers in the vineyard. On the surface, the parable of the workers in the vineyard appears to be completely contrary to common sense. Those who work a longer day ought to be paid more than those who work just an hour or two. When viewed in this way, the landowner seems unfair. That is because we are reading into the parable our own preconceived notions of how fairness and equality should be quantified.

A close read shows us that the landowner paid on the terms that were negotiated. The land-owner, it seems, has acted completely justly. The parable goes beyond that, however, and we come to see that the landowner is not simply just, he is exceptionally just. He is radically just. He has given those who labored in the field for a full day their due pay. But he has also given a full-day’s wage to those who worked only a single hour. No one is cheated, but a few receive abundantly from the landowner just as we receive from God more than what is merely justifiable or due. God, like the landowner, is radically just and abundantly generous. The workers who complain are made to look foolish as they lament the fact that the landowner has made all workers equal. Indeed, what more could one ask for than to be treated as an equal at work or anywhere else?

The parable reminds us that although God owes us nothing, he offers abundantly and equally. We are occasionally tempted to think that our own actions deserve more reward, more of God's abundant mercy, than the actions of others. But God’s generosity cannot be quantified or partitioned into different amounts for different people. When we think that way, we are trying to relate to God on our terms rather than to accept God’s radically different ways!

This Sunday, the Church celebrates Catechetical Sunday. This year’s theme is: “I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you” (I Corinthians 11:23). This year’s theme emphasizes that living faith necessitates movement, inspiring all those who hear the Word to generously share it as witnesses of the true and living God. We want to especially commend our good parents who have accepted the role of active evangelization by participating in the Family Catechesis Program this year. They are truly instruments of transmitting the faith in the lives of their children along with our volunteer PREP teachers who so generously give of their time and talent. We will offer a prayer of blessing at the conclusion of the Universal Prayers at Mass for all who have taken up the task of evangelization whether catechist (or parent) in light of this unusual time in which we are living with the pandemic. May God continue to bless our parents (the primary teachers of the faith) as well as our Catechists who assist them in “handing on” the precious gift of faith that we have received from the Lord Himself.

Just a quick reminder about an important upcoming collection next week. Because of the suspension of Masses this past Spring due to the Coronavirus, the Holy See asked that the annual Good Friday Collection for the Holy Land be pushed back to the weekend of September 26 & 27, 2020. If you have already sent in your Good Friday envelope previously, we thank you for your generosity. If you did not and would like to contribute now, we invite you to take an envelope from the tables in the vestibules and return them next week with your contribution made out to “OLA”. We thank you in advance for your generous and sacrificial sup-port on behalf of the Holy See for the sites in the Holy Land.

I thank you all once again for your continued financial support during these difficult times. May God continue to bless you and your families. Have a great week!

Love and prayers,

Father Carey

Original source can be found here.

Source: Our Lady Of The Assumption Parish